Janacek, Leos (1854 - 1928)

Composer, conductor, music theoretician. He probably met Dvorak during his studies at the Prague organ school. Over time they became close friends and travelled round Bohemia together. During the year 1883 Janacek occupied the Dvoraks’ apartment in Prague while they were staying at Vysoka. Janacek was a great admirer of Dvorak’s work and, as a prominent figure in Brno music circles, he often presented Dvorak’s works here, in the process establishing a Dvorak cult in the city. Janacek also handed Dvorak some of his early works for the latter’s appraisal (the cantata Amarus, choruses for male voices, the opera Sarka). In 1886, Janacek dedicated his Four Choruses for Male Voices (“Warning”, “O, Love”, “Oh, to be a soldier”, “Your Wondrous Eyes”) to Dvorak “in token of my infinite respect”.